'15 Q5 TDI - multiple Adblue faults?
#1
'15 Q5 TDI - multiple Adblue faults?
Hello,
I bought a 2015 Q5 TDI in January of this year and the car is great to drive, but I'm becoming extremely frustrated with multiple Adblue faults; the car is now in the shop for the fourth time in 7 months.
The first Adblue fault occurred just after a few months. It's the fault message with the wrench and it shows that you have 600 mi before no restart. The message cleared after about a day but I took it to the dealership. They said the Adblue pump had failed (no pressure) and they replaced it.
About a month after this, the Adblue fault occurred again. I took it to the dealership (different than the first one) and they said the pump was working fine but the first dealership didn't fully fill the Adblue and do an "adaptation", whatever that is.
The fault occurred again about another month later, and actually counted down to 550 mi and then cleared again. The dealership told me to bring it in if the message reoccurred, which is did a few weeks later. They replaced the pump (now on pump #3) again, they said there was no pressure. Apparently there is a service bulletin about a bad batch of pumps.
Within about a day (and ~90 miles of driving), the message popped up again, still showing 550 miles (I would have expected it to reset back to 600?). I drove it straight to the dealership, and it's there now.
Could the third pump have already failed again just after 90 miles and one day of driving? Or is it possible this is being misdiagnosed and there could be other problems going on?
At this point I'm getting so fed up that I'm thinking that purchasing the TDI was a big mistake, the Adblue emissions hardware on these vehicles is way to unreliable, and I'm seriously thinking about trying to get this swapped out for a gas version by the dealership (or pursuing lemon law if they aren't willing). The 3.0T gas and TDI are about the same price-wise. I love how the TDI drives though and it looks like most people on this forum really like their TDIs, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
Just wondering if others have had as horrible of a time with the Q5 TDI, or if perhaps there is something being missed in the diagnosis. Could this all be caused by a wonky computer?
Thanks
I bought a 2015 Q5 TDI in January of this year and the car is great to drive, but I'm becoming extremely frustrated with multiple Adblue faults; the car is now in the shop for the fourth time in 7 months.
The first Adblue fault occurred just after a few months. It's the fault message with the wrench and it shows that you have 600 mi before no restart. The message cleared after about a day but I took it to the dealership. They said the Adblue pump had failed (no pressure) and they replaced it.
About a month after this, the Adblue fault occurred again. I took it to the dealership (different than the first one) and they said the pump was working fine but the first dealership didn't fully fill the Adblue and do an "adaptation", whatever that is.
The fault occurred again about another month later, and actually counted down to 550 mi and then cleared again. The dealership told me to bring it in if the message reoccurred, which is did a few weeks later. They replaced the pump (now on pump #3) again, they said there was no pressure. Apparently there is a service bulletin about a bad batch of pumps.
Within about a day (and ~90 miles of driving), the message popped up again, still showing 550 miles (I would have expected it to reset back to 600?). I drove it straight to the dealership, and it's there now.
Could the third pump have already failed again just after 90 miles and one day of driving? Or is it possible this is being misdiagnosed and there could be other problems going on?
At this point I'm getting so fed up that I'm thinking that purchasing the TDI was a big mistake, the Adblue emissions hardware on these vehicles is way to unreliable, and I'm seriously thinking about trying to get this swapped out for a gas version by the dealership (or pursuing lemon law if they aren't willing). The 3.0T gas and TDI are about the same price-wise. I love how the TDI drives though and it looks like most people on this forum really like their TDIs, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
Just wondering if others have had as horrible of a time with the Q5 TDI, or if perhaps there is something being missed in the diagnosis. Could this all be caused by a wonky computer?
Thanks
#2
Club AutoUnion
Wow. I'm really sorry to hear that. I'm surprised to hear you're still having the same problem even on pump number 3. Logic dictates that if the first one has a problem, replace it. If the second one does it, maybe it's a bad batch. If the third one does it, you should start looking for the real problem elsewhere. I hope you get this resolved because the Q5 TDI is an amazing vehicle.
#3
AudiWorld Super User
Hang in there with the TDI. But you should talk to AoA to put on record that this maybe a lemon vehicle and documenting the case. I would go for another TDI replacement.
The following users liked this post:
A6forMoi (10-20-2022)
#4
AudiWorld Member
Spaceman,
There have been a lot AdBlue issues with the TDIs. However, I don't think anyone has had it as bad as you.
I had both vehicles AdBlue sensors replaced before each vehicle hit 10K.
Check out this link, might give you a better idea what a few of us have went through.
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...blems-2881274/
V/r
Dan
There have been a lot AdBlue issues with the TDIs. However, I don't think anyone has had it as bad as you.
I had both vehicles AdBlue sensors replaced before each vehicle hit 10K.
Check out this link, might give you a better idea what a few of us have went through.
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...blems-2881274/
V/r
Dan
#6
Thanks for the replies. Hopefully I should hear something from Audi service tomorrow about if this is pump #3 failure or if this is maybe the sensor or computer or something else.
The weird thing is that the message would show up and go away, and show up again, always showing 550 miles left and not counting down. This makes me think sensor or computer and not pump, but the mechanic says there was no pressure. (Couldn't a bad sensor or computer rather than pump problem cause lack of pressure as well?)
If it's really three pump failures in a row, I'd lean towards ditching the TDI for a gas model. But it also sounds like people have managed to get past this with proper repairs and have trustworthy TDIs that they've put some mileage on.
Meanwhile my wife's VW Tiguan is about to turn 5 and has had zero problems. Who would've thought that VWs would be more reliable than Audis.
The weird thing is that the message would show up and go away, and show up again, always showing 550 miles left and not counting down. This makes me think sensor or computer and not pump, but the mechanic says there was no pressure. (Couldn't a bad sensor or computer rather than pump problem cause lack of pressure as well?)
If it's really three pump failures in a row, I'd lean towards ditching the TDI for a gas model. But it also sounds like people have managed to get past this with proper repairs and have trustworthy TDIs that they've put some mileage on.
Meanwhile my wife's VW Tiguan is about to turn 5 and has had zero problems. Who would've thought that VWs would be more reliable than Audis.
Trending Topics
#8
Just picked my Q5 TDI up from the dealer after being in repair for several days. The Audi technical folks suspected that the problem was likely caused by a vent line restriction, so the entire adblue tank assembly was replaced (which includes the sensor and pump). So far so good... hopefully the problem is gone for good now.
#9
AudiWorld Member
Just picked my Q5 TDI up from the dealer after being in repair for several days. The Audi technical folks suspected that the problem was likely caused by a vent line restriction, so the entire adblue tank assembly was replaced (which includes the sensor and pump). So far so good... hopefully the problem is gone for good now.
#10
Sorry about your troubles with AdBlue.
We got our 2015 TDI about 10 months ago, got 9,000 miles, and have not had any issues. We had to add AdBlue a few times.
Hope that the dealer corrects your car to your satisfaction.
We have been so happy with ours that I am thinking of another when we replace our other car.
We got our 2015 TDI about 10 months ago, got 9,000 miles, and have not had any issues. We had to add AdBlue a few times.
Hope that the dealer corrects your car to your satisfaction.
We have been so happy with ours that I am thinking of another when we replace our other car.